Paul Ellertson, contributor 

Republicans from the House of Representatives held an impeachment inquiry hearing Sept. 29, claiming that President Joe Biden benefited and engaged in his son’s, Hunter Biden, illegal overseas business dealings back in 2020. According to NPR, Chairman of House Oversight and Accountability James Comer and House Republicans claimed there was evidence that Biden had in fact been involved in his son’s business, and had used his presidency to benefit his family. However, House Republicans struggled to prove their case.

In the six hour long hearing, which was described in NPR news as “chaotic and antagonistic,” Comer and Republicans claimed to have “uncovered a mountain of evidence” against the President, proper for impeachment. Jason Smith, House Ways and Means Committee Chairman,  stated in a quote from NPR, information obtained by his panel “makes clear that Hunter Biden’s Business was selling the ‘Biden brand’ and access to the White House was his most valuable asset – despite official claims otherwise.” 

The Republican panel called upon three witnesses to try and solidify their claims, however none of them could provide knowledge of any wrongdoing. George Washington Law School Professor Jonathan Turley, one of the three witnesses at the hearing and who had testified for impeachment cases for both Bill Clinton and Donald Trump, said in a quote reported by NPR News, “I have previously stated that, while I believe that an impeachment inquiry is warranted, I do not believe that the evidence currently meets the standard of a high crime and misdemeanor needed for an article of impeachment.”

The Republican panel was met with heavy criticism from the Democratic panel, after failing to bring solid evidence for impeachment. Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez, New York Democratic House representative, called the hearing “an embarrassment.”  Jamie Raskin, Maryland Democratic House representative, criticized the hearing for not only its lack of evidence, but its timing with the impending government shutdown, due to Congress’ inability to come to an agreement on the U.S.’s funding. According to NPR, Raskin also took a procedural step during the hearing to subpoena Lev Parnas and Rudy Giuliani, who he considers “major witnesses,” considering Parnas had helped Giuliani connect with Ukrainian figures to investigate the Bidens during the 2020 presidential election.

Sharon Yang, White House spokesperson for Oversight, stated in a quote from NPR that Republicans wasted hours “peddling debunked lies.” Yang also stated, “This flop was a failed effort to distract from their own chaos and inability to govern that is careening the country towards an unnecessary government shutdown that will hurt American families.” According to AP News, Democrats even went as far as displaying a screen, counting down the days and hours to 12:01 a.m. on Oct.1, during the hearing.

According to AP news, the likelihood of Biden’s impeachment, or even a conviction, are next to zero.  In an interview with NPR, Comer stated that he and his team will continue to look for reasons to impeach Biden, even if the government did shut down. It is unclear how Republicans will continue this investigation, and no further hearings have been scheduled.